Decisions, Decisions
by JetCooke
Summary: The sorting hat has a tough job some years


**Written for Diagon Alley Fic Crawl - Eeylops Owl Emporium**

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Another year had passed by and the Sorting Hat was ready to play his part again. It wasn't the most exciting life, being a hat, but still he always loved the welcome feast. He loved looking into children's minds and seeing what they might become. His main issue with this life was that he wished someone would clean him once in a while. After a thousand years he was beginning to look rather dirty and unkempt.

He gazed across the hall at all the wondering faces before him. Young ones filled with fear, older ones filled with boredom and yet still older ones filled with appreciation. He had been doing this job for a very long time and knew that only those older and wiser appreciated the real complexities of what he achieved in such a short space of time. Taking a deep breath, (did he have breath, he wasn't sure), he began to sing.

_A Millennia or more ago_

_When I was just a hat._

_There were four teachers of true fame_

_Who knew when that was that._

_They brought together children all_

_Whose magic showed clear signs._

_They taught them all that they did know_

_And much much more besides._

_They chose the ones they valued most_

_And took them for their own._

_They each had values they did like_

_And watched o'er 'til they were grown._

_Brave Gryffindor he liked all those_

_With courage through and through._

_Wise Ravenclaw she took them all_

_Who searched for knowledge new._

_Sweet Hufflepuff she loved all those_

_Who cherished truth and justice._

_Proud Slytherin he took them all_

_Whose ambition called for notice._

_This is my role, now they have gone._

_I am the last one of the sorters._

_I read your mind, I split you up._

_I cut you into quarters._

Finishing with a bow he froze again ready to begin. The first few children were simple to place. Their minds easy to see and even easier to understand. The third however was a surprise.

"Black, Sirius" he heard Professor McGonagall call. The Blacks were an old Slytherin family, this should have been another easy placement, but as soon as he touched Sirius' head he knew this boy was different. Oh the Slytherin ambition was there alright but it was muted. The boy's main ambition was not greatness but difference. He wanted desperately to be different to his family and that took courage. Especially when that family was the Blacks. With that much courage the boy surely had to be

"GRYFFINDOR". He watched the boy saunter to the Gryffindor table with a spring in his step. Yes he was Gryffindor through and through.

McGonagall continued calling names and one by one he placed them in the house he thought suitable. Some were quicker to place than others. Some took a few seconds at most. One Lily Evans took a little while, she was almost equal parts courage and intelligence. In the end he decided that her courage would be a defining factor in her life and placed her in Gryffindor. The next real surprise though came when McGonagall called

"Lupin, Remus."

The Hat saw a brown haired, pale skinned boy whose face seemed to be littered with scars. He seemed even more nervous than any of the other first years. The Hat knew instinctively that this would not be a simple placement, nothing prepared him for the shock of sitting on that boy's head though. A werewolf! Here. At Hogwarts. Whatever next? Well this boy certainly wasn't simple. The courage he could sense in the boy was immense. He had faced so much already in his short life and would go on to face even more. He was clearly intelligent with a penchant for books. He had incredible ambition too, not in the traditional sense but a werewolf at Hogwarts, living a normal life, that was ambitious. Hufflepuff could also work. The poor boy was so starved for human interaction and affection that he would be loyal to anyone who'd have him. The Hat knew he would also work hard to hide and overcome his secret. It wasn't often the Sorting Hat considered all four houses for a student but in this case it felt warranted. But what to do? Courage, the hat eventually decided, was more important than everything else for this boy. He would grow to be a very brave man.

"GRYFFINDOR" he called to the room at large, feeling the small boy tense beneath him at the loud noise.

The next challenge proved to be a small mousey boy named Peter Pettigrew. Here was a challenge indeed. There was a bravery in the boy that the Hat thought could one day maybe prove to be a defining factor of his life but there was also a secretive side. An overwhelming need to be part of something, the bigger the better. It seemed the boy would do anything to achieve that. Struggling to figure out what to do the Hat contemplated about where to place him. Gryffindor in case the courage played out or Slytherin where he would be surrounded by those of similar ambition and secrets. He knew that people had begun muttering, they always did when he took this long. A hat stall they called it, how rude, but no matter what they thought he was determined to make the right decision. It was over five minutes before he finally decided. He hoped that Peter, this boy, would live that life of bravery and the best way to help him do that was by placing him in Gryffindor. He hoped he would live up to it. After a long sorting like that he was glad it was nearly over, just a few more names to go. The next boy was easy. James Potter was a Gryffindor through and through. He supposed some needed to be straight forward or the sorting would take forever. He much preferred a challenge though.


End file.
